By Zoila Palma: Following recent tensions and Wednesday’s stand off between the Belize Coast Guard and vessels of the Guatemalan Armed Forces in the Sarstoon, Prime Minister John Briceno says that Belize continues to stand our ground.
“I have to commend the BDF on the way they act with such professionalism, because the reality is that we can’t afford a flare-up whereby people are fighting out there, because it’s obvious Guatemala is 18 million, we’re 400,000. It’s a fight we can’t win, a physical fight. But we can win that fight diplomatically and in the courts, and that’s exactly what we’re doing at this moment,” the Prime Minister said.
The PM says that Belize continues to stand our ground in face of continued aggression by the Guatemalan army.
“We have not lost the Sarstoon. We continue to stand our ground. There are instances when these big boats are in front of us with guns. What do you want us to go? We have to face reality. But we are very confident that we continue to win diplomatically when we make it known in the United Nations, or to the OAS, or to the friends of Belize like the Americans and the European Union and the UK, Canada. I was at the Heads of the Commonwealth meeting in Antigua and Barbuda; I brought up the concerns, they took out in their communique their continuous support for Belize, so we continue to win on the diplomatic front,” the PM added.
In addition, PM Briceno expressed confidence in the ICJ.
“And I have every confidence in the court we will also win, and we have been discussing with the Americans, with the UN and the EU and all our partners, that one of the important things is going to be that once that case is over would be the implementation. We have to ensure that Guatemala abides by the ruling,” he said.
The post Prime Minister on tensions in Sarstoon: “We continue to stand our ground” appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Zoila Palma: Following recent tensions and Wednesday’s stand off between the Belize Coast Guard and vessels of the Guatemalan Armed Forces in the Sarstoon, Prime Minister John Briceno says that Belize continues to stand our ground. “I have to commend the BDF on the way they act with such professionalism, because the reality is
The post Prime Minister on tensions in Sarstoon: “We continue to stand our ground” appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
